Efficacy of Intracordal Trafermin Injection Using Propensity Score Matching in Age-Related Vocal Fold Atrophy

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Age-related vocal fold atrophy (ARVA) leads to voice impairment.
• Current treatments like voice therapy (VT) have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of Intracordal Trafermin Injection (ITI) versus standard VT for ARVA.
• To evaluate voice improvement using propensity score matching (PSM).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 197 patients receiving ITI and 412 patients receiving VT.
• Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline characteristics.
• Primary outcome was voice improvement measured by the Voice Handicap Index (VHI).

Main Results:

• After PSM, baseline characteristics were balanced between the ITI and VT groups.
• The ITI group showed significantly greater voice improvement (p=0.023) compared to the VT group.
• The mean voice recording period was 40.98 days post-ITI and 79.91 days post-VT.

Conclusions:

• Intracordal Trafermin Injection (ITI) is an effective treatment for improving voice in age-related vocal fold atrophy (ARVA).
• Further research, including prospective trials and comparisons with other injectables, is warranted.